Revision as of 21:58, 16 August 2012

Introduction

I am putting together a Computer Club for students at my school. It will be based on RPi Model B running the Raspbian “wheezy” image. One of my concerns was the potential time used up to setup and pack away a full RPi configuration for each member. My way around this is to use SSH and VNC to run the computers headless, so the setup can all be done on a single table - which also reduces the cost considerably.

My original intention for the club was for me to prepare the RPi image in advance ready for the students to get straight into programming in Python 3 and PyGame. However, I am wondering if the students I am looking for might, instead, prefer to setup the RPi for themselves from a vanilla wheezy install. Either way, after writing lots into a notebook as I worked out each stage of the setup process, making lots of mistakes on the way, I collected together what I had learned into an install document.

Target Audience

Teachers who are planning similar projects, other RPi owners getting headless system working, and experts to comment on accuracy of details

Trinity School RPi Specification

Disclaimer: The document below is an accumulation of knowledge I have gained over the last few weeks since getting my hands on a RPi, while my original order remains backlogged. Most of the content has been taken from other places, and main sources (but probably not all) have been acknowledged. Any omissions spotted will be corrected.

My document consists of the following main sections:

1. Trinity School Raspberry Pi Specification - in which I summarise all the hardware and software I have included in my proposal to the Headteacher.

2. RPi Operating System Build - which is the main reason for creating this page - where I run through step by step the procedure needed to get from a headless RPi physically connected to the school network to being ready to start programming in Python 3.

3. Raspberry Pi Reference - a few useful snippets about the RPi.

I created it in MS Word which I saved as a PDF for publication on this Wiki. If it proves useful enough, I will try and turn it into Wiki form.